Ramming machine



s. c. BLlvss- RAMMIN'G MACHINE Filed sept. 8', 1927 2 sheets-sneer i' lJune 26, 1928.

s. c. Buss l 1675088 RAMMING MACHINE Filed sept. s, 1927 asheets-sheet 2 InvG/12 Zur .HZ-Zorn @gf Vii Fatented June 1923.

srrnnwoon c. BLISS, or --knmonn *NEW/YORK.

RA-MMING MACHINE.

Appiication fued september 8,1927. Seriaiuo. 218,216.AV

My Ainvention relates to a. `ramming or tamping machine for use in molding operations, Which operatesto rain `Aor tampinoliding sand or other material. in ainold orflask of a inold,-so that .a true impression ofthe pattern, bein-g used Will be produced inthe mold *material preparato@7 to tlie'assemhling ol the mold so thatmolten metal or other material maybe Aio lpoured int-o themold--to produce aprodiict of the desired material which ,-ivilly conformi shape to the pattern being used.

An important. object ot' my invention isto provide an etlicientramining device so guided and supported-'for travel across the mold that ino part of the device or itsV supports will be in a. position vertically-above the melder-pattern at the timeithat the ramming device'is in an inoperativeposition ivh'entho tlaskis vheingplaced overthe pattern or sand is being placed on tlicpattern orintothe tlask.

This construction j avoids interference with sandchutes or measuring devices usedifor nltiioducing sand or *otherl material into the ymold or its flask. Italso,.perinitszthe location ol'the sand or mold ii'iaterial hopperdi- .rectly ahovethe mold andvmalzes it unnecessary to employ moving bucket-s or chutes which are required Wherefpartsiot the ramL nier supporting elements arel at' all times vertically `above the mold orits flask.

Another object is to provide a ramining device having the elements for propelling and guiding' it in its travel across thefmold so* arranged that the relative movement of the contacting surfaces Wher e:triction occurs will he reduced to a small-amount thus reducing the force required for `propellingthe device across the mold. i

Another object isto arrange `the guiding and propelling elements ot the ramming mechanism so that the ,contacting surfaces where relative movement occurs maybe `adequately protected from the admission of grit such as molding sand.

Another object is to provide a ramming device which will travel. across the mold and :will require a minimum of clearance orjlieadroom directly over the mold, this making itpossible to locate the sand or material hopper a short distance above-the mold sot-hat. the drop of sand orfinaterial .from the hopper linto the mold Will notpack the-sander material excessively inthe mold.

This raimiiing operationvis rAnother Objectis Aprovide fa ramen-ing device which will travel across `the moldkand will require but one :support extending tothe floor and in this Way reduce obstructions to the i'irolding spaceand facilitate the Verection land installation fof the device.A

`'Another object is to provide simplified means vtor preventingdisplacement jof the device relative to the mold.

Ano'tl'ier object is to 'provi-de f device yfor removing the excessv rammed or tampedy sand (ii-material from the top surfaceotthemold.-

about hall2 of its -forwardftravel across lthe mold, the full lines. showtlie position of the device attheend .ot itsforivard movement when it reversesits.direction of traveland starts on its 'backward travel across the mold.

Fig-ure 2 is Ian end elevation oft-lie saine. Figure 3 is 'a zpartial l.vertical ,transverse sectional view ot' .the upper part ofthe rainming mechanism', heingtaken on lineB-,

`Fig. l.

`Figure 44l iis a side elevation -oftheirainining machine, the position of its parts beingin -accoi-dance with vthe y.position shown fby full linesin planFig. 1. g I

Figure is vapartial verticalllongit-udinal section of the raniii'iing-fmechanism, being taken on line 5*-5 Fig. 2. I f `Figure Gis a partial Avvertical transverse section of the animer foot, being taken on lneG-G Fig. 5. e

Figure 7 is a partial verticallongitudinal sectional view 'of v the means for .allowing -t-he animer t'ootto maintain its position rela` rtive longitudinallyto the mold Whilejthefoot lis in` contact with thesand'or other material `ofthe mold'and tliejramming device is moving longitudinallyacross v,the mold.

Figure 8 is a diagram ofthe movement olf the parts oftheraminer during thefirst .par-t of the forward travel `of the rammel" and before the rammer yfoi'ithas come .into agposition over the-moldsothat `the font contacts v,With the material of the mold.VV "That is lsand or molding material by the ramenerlpfeet,y inthe direction `of' the travel ofthe ramming sleeve 76 slides freely in its slot in the` bracket 74 and the flange on the sleeve forms a stop so that when the inner face of the flange is in Contact with the outer surface of the bracket74 the inner end of the sleeve v7 6 contacts with the side of the central boss 7 5a on plunger 75 when the bars 68 are in the desired central position. Nuts 77 are' provided at theouter ends of plun ers 75 and interposed between these nutsV 77 and the outer ends of the .sleeves 76 are helical `conipression springs 78. The springs 76 act to move the ,sleevesY into Contact with the sides Iofthe boss 75El on the plunger 75 and thus `yieldinglyhold the bars 68 in the'desired central position. p

-The purpose of this construction just described is as follows:

Referring'to Fig. 8, t-his Vdiagram shows lthe relative positions of thelower end of the rammer foot 58 and the shoe 66', links 71 and `crank of crankshaft 44 at several stages of one complete revolution of crankshaft 44,

all in relation to a vertical center line through i thecranksha'ft 44 and with the bars 68 which `lines of the links 71.

carry the pivots for the links in a central position. The upper circle represents the movement of the crank, the lower ellipsoid represents the movement of the shoe, the in clined vertical lines are center lines of the rammer case, plunger Vand shoe, andthe inclined horizontal linesrepresent the center The several stages of one completeV revolution of thev crankshaft are indicatedby corresponding numerals. It is apparent that if the shoe 66 should be constrained to follow the ellipsoidal path sho-wn in Fig. 8 at the time the rammer was moving across the mold, the shoe would drag the molding sand or material along with it in the direction of the travel of the rammer across the mold. To avoid this yieldingly held bars 68` allow the links 71 pivoted to them to move laterally in relation to the rammer frame and thus allowthe rammer feet and the'shoes fast to them to remain stationary in a lateral relation to the mold while the shoes are in contact with the molding sand or material, thus avoiding the lateral displacement of the sand or molding material relative to the mold.V

.Provision is made for levelling the top surface of the moldinU sand or material before the rammer shoes act to ram the material in the iiask and also forremoving the excess rammed sand or material from the top surface of the mold after the material has been-rammed. The sand levelling and removing device comprises a transverse plate 7 9 which islocated immediately ahead of the rammer feet 58 and which extends across the rammer frame from the guard pla-te 49 on one side of the frame to the other guard plate.` This plate 79 is inclined upwardly and outwardly from the rammer feet and vis fixed at each end to approximately horizontal swinging levers 80, which levers are pivotally mounted intermediate their ends on guard plates 49. T he ends of levers 8() on the opposite side of their pivots from the plate 79 are provided with slidablyadjustable counterweights 81. .A handle 83 is attached to plate 79 foi-.manipulation of the plate. The counter weights 81 are adjusted and set so as to balance the plate 79 with its handle 83 and levers 80.` The upward and downward movement of the plate 79 away from and towards the mold is limited by adjustable stops 82 secured to an adjacent corner bar 47 Two stops82` are provided, one being located soas to contact with `lines in Fig. 4, and air or other pressure fluid has access to the outer end of cylinder 18, acting to hold the ramming mechanism in position, and the crankshaft 44 is rotating under` power. The rammer feet are being moved up and down bythe crank shaft andas they do not contact with the mold `they Yfollow the ellipsoidal path shown by diagram in Fig. 8. The link168 is in its central position and the plate 79 vmay be atl either the upper or lower limitor between the limits of its movement. After the sand or other molding materialis in the flask or mold ready for .ramming the operator moves the lever 24 to the position shown by full lines in Fig. 4 thus admitting air to the inner end'of the cylinder 18 and allowing the air toescape from the outer end, thereby Acausing the piston to move fthe rod `19 and traverse the ramming `mechanism across the mold. The plate 79 contactsfwith the sand 'which is usually heaped above the top of the flask and since it is inclined during its forward movement it tends to` ride over the sand, and being counter-balanced, isfree to `move upward until lever contacts with upper stop 82.

This. plate in its upper position during the forward movement of the rammer over the mold acts to leveloff the sand 'of the mold at any height above the flask as predetermined bythe setting of upper stop 82. As soon as the rammer feet come into contact with Vthe sand of the mold and act to ram the sand, the feet being yieldingly con' trolled laterally in relation to the rammer rame'by the bar 68A they `are permitted by remesa the control to remain' in a stationary rposition relative laterally tothe mold while they are in' contact with the mold materia-l thus avoidinglateral displacement ofthe mate# rial in the mold:

vWhen the rainming mechanism reaches the position shown bythe full lines in F ig. l, the operator moves thev lever 24 from the position shown by iull lines to the positionl shown by dotted lines in Fig.. 4,. thus causing the rainming mechanism to reverse 'its' 'direction of travel and start to move'backmold and removing` excess sand from thev mold". Then the piston of the cylinder 18 reaches the endl off'its'stroke the travel of the raniming mechanism stops at the position shown by V.the upper dotted lines in Fig'. l.- TheV i'afnmiei` motor l5 aiid'crank-shaft- 44 rotate continuously.

It Wil-l1 be' noted that the'V rotation of each ot the pivotal points where friction occurs is small; in' amount, also that the movement ot the dri-'ving members isl muchsmaller than the movement of 'the driven parts at' thc other end of the pantograph. By this means the wear uponvtlie friction surlaees is greatly reduced. The-construction also permits of adequately protectingY the' bearings against theV admission of grit and sand.

From the' foregoing itv is appareiitfthat my invention provides a 'sini-ple' ramniing' mechanismt'or accoiiiplisliin'g-tl'ie objects sta-ted.`

IV claim as' my invention:

l. A raminiiig1 machine comprising ia' main supporting arm," a: second y'arm' pivotally mounted onl 'said mai-nsupporting` arm.. a

pivotal` support for saiclf'main' supporting arm, means for movingsaidfmaiir supporting arm abou-tuts pivotal support,- a ramming mechanisn'r pivotally supported onv said sec` ond arm, andineans tor'inovingsaid second arm to cause sai'd raminingv mechanism to follow a straight path across the 'element being` rammed. y e

2.' A ramini-ngf machine comprising-a ina-inf supportingarin, an auxiliary arm pivotally mounted onV said main armi, a pivotal sii-pport forA said ma'infarm,t means for moving,y` said main armahout itsl pivotal-support,- a

rammingmechanism pivotalysupported-.on

auxiliary arm', and meansv actuated through motion derived from said main supporting arm tor movingsaid auxiliary arm-f to' cause: sai'd raniming` '-n'ie'chaiiism toV follow a straightpath across the element being' raijiin'ied.

A rammingv machine comprising series ot horizontallyswinging arnisy arranged in the torni Vot a pantograph, a rainniing mechani'sinsi'i'pportedat one extremity ot said pantograph', and means for actuatinlgsaid pafntographto cause' said `ammingmecha# iii'sin to traverse the element being rammed.l

4.1 A rammiiig machine coi'nprisii'i'g a' main supporting arm, an auxiliary arm pivotally mounted on" said main arm, a pivotal sup-' port :torsaid ii'iain arm, a reciprocating drivingy member adjacent one'end' oi said main arii'i, a driving link 'connecting said driving f ineiiib'er and main arm', a raiiiniing mechaf arm, and al zf r-uide link connectedatonel end with said driving member and' said drive ylink at their pivotal connection and at lits other end with said auxiliary ari'n, said mainv ari'i'igdrive linlg guide linkand auxiliary arm forming'a mainai'in'i'l 5. A rainining machine" eonipijisiiig a supportingarm,v a pivotal su'ppoitlfoirsaid su-pporting ariufa rfin'iiiii fii'iechani'sn'i 'carried by said support noi ai`-iii',` means for moving acrossv the" element being rammed and means fordiolding.-said raininingl mechanism in predetermined angular 'relation-s to said path.

6l A` ramniiiig` ma' iii'ie comprising a main' ari'n'-,I iiieaiis forinovinfg said iiiaiii'ariii about tsrpi'votal support, means forinovingsaid@ auxiliary arni relative 'tovk said n'iaiii`Y support-- quadrangle' iii 'all' positions ofsaid to follow a'p'redetejrmined path randmeans for' moving said ramming "me'cli'ani'sihv` aboutv` vits`='pivr'itrl' 'support lto hold saidramiiiing*v nieoh'anisin in predetermined angular relai-` ltionsJ` to saidV path. Y

arm?,` an auxiliary arm pivotally mounted oir' said maint supportinqV arin", al rarnmi ng mechl' ai'iisi'n `]n'vot ally mounted on said' auxiliary ari'nynieanstoi"moving said mainfarnrabout its pivotal". support, means for" moving said said ramining mechanism about its pivotal.

support to hold said ramming mechanism in predetermined angular relations to fsaid path. `8. A ramming machine comprising amain supporting arm, a pivotal support for said main arm, an auxiliary arm pivotally mounted on said main arm, a ramming mechanism pivotally mounted on said auxiliary arm, means for moving said main supporting arm` about its pivotal support, means for moving said auxiliary armrabout its pivotal support to cause said ramming mechanism to follow a straight path across the element being rammed, a bell crank lever movably mounted on the'pivot supporting said auxiliary arm and said main arm, a guide link arranged parallel with said main supporting arm and pivotally connected at opposite ends with one arm of said bell crank leverand a Vstationary portion adjacent the pivotal support for said main arm andra second guide link arranged parallel with said auxiliary arm and pivotally connected at opposite ends with the other arm of said bell crank'lever and said ramming mechanism whereby upon moving said main arm said ramming mechanism is moved along a straight path and is maintained in the same relative position thereto.

9. A ramming machine comprising a series of horizontally swinging arms arranged in the form of a pantograph, a ramming mechanism pivotally supported at one extremity of said pantograph to cause said ramming mechanism to traverse the element being rammed, and means for moving said ramming mechanism about its pivotal support to hold said ramming mechanism in predetermined angular relations to its path of movement.

10. A ramming machine comprising a frame, means for moving said frame across the element being rammed, a crank shaft journaled in said frame, means for operating said crank shaft, a depending ramming member secured to said crank shaft and reciprocated thereby, a rainming foot at the lower end of said ramming member, a horizontal guiding member pivotally secured at one end to said ramining member at the lower end thereof and spring means mounted on said frame and cooperating Wit-h said horizontalv guidingr member to yieldingly -hold said rammer foot in a central position below said crank shaft, and permit of lateral movementthereof relative to said frame when said frame is moved and said foot is in contact with the element being rammed.

11. A ramming machine comprising a frame, means for moving said frame horizontally across the element being rammed, a crank shaft journaled in said frame, means for operating said crank shaft, a depending ramming member secured to said crank shaft and reciprocated thereby, a ramming foot at the lower end of said rammlng member, a..

horizontallink pivotally secured at one end to said ramming member at the lower end thereof, a lever pivotally secured at one end to the opposite end of said link and at its other end to said frame, and spring means mounted on said frame and cooperating with said lever to yieldingly hold said rammer foot in a central position below said crank shaft, and permit lateral movement thereof relative to said frame when said frame is i moved and said rammer foot is in contact with'the element being rammed.

l2. A ramming machine comprising a frame, mcansfor movin@r said frame horizontally across the element being rammed, a

crank sha-ft journaled in` said frame, meansV for operating said crank shaft, a dependmg rammer secured to said crank shaftand` reciprocated thereby, a horizontal link pivotzontally across the element being rammed, a

crank shaft journaled in said frame, means for operating said crank shaft, a depending rammer secured to said crank shaft andreciprocated thereby, a ramming foot yieldingly secured to the lower end, of said rammer, a. horizontal linkpivotally secured at one end to said rammer foot, a vertical lever pivotally secured at its lower end to the other end of said link and at its upper end to said frame, a bracket carried by said frame, and opposed springs carried by said bracket and yieldingly holding said lever in a central position, and permitting lateral movement of said foot relative to said frame, link and levers when said frame is moved and said ramming foot is in contact with the element being rammed.

14. A rainming machine comprising a frame, means for moving said frame horizontally across th'e element being rammed, a crank shaft carried by said frame, means for rotating said crank shaft, a depending rammer secured to said crank shaft and reciprocated thereby, a ramming footyieldingly secured to the lower end of said ram mer, and means for yieldingly holding said rammer in a central position, and `permitting lateral movement of said foot relative to said frame when said frame is moving and said foot is in contact with the element being rammed, comprising a shaft secured to said frame, a pair of depending levers pivotally secured at their upper ends to said shaft, a horizontal rod connecting said levers intermediate their ends, a pair of horizontal links pivotally connecting the lower ends of said levers with said foot, a bracket embracing said levers adjacent said rod and provided on its opposite sides with slots, sliding sleeves arranged ineach of saidslots and each provided with a head limiting its inward movement, a horizontal fiange at the lower end of said sleeve, a

bracket supported by said flange, a ramming shoe below said bracket, sliding bolts limitmg the downward movement of said shoe relative to said bracket, a plunger project-` ing upwardly from said shoe within said sleeve, a compression spring within said plunger and sleeve and yieldingly holding said shoe in a downwardly extended position, and spacing elements arranged within said sleeve and interposed between the upper end of said spring and said bearing element.

16. In a ramining machine, a frame, a ramming mechanism carried by said frame, means for moving said frame horizontally over the surface of thek sand to be rammed,

an inclined plate pivotally mounted on said frame and adapted when moved in one direc tion to level the surface of the sand, and in the opposite direction to engage and scrape the surface of the sand andbe held in a depressed position thereby and means for adjustably limiting the upward land down ward movement of'said plate.

17. In a ramming machine a frame, a ramming mechanism carried by said frame, means for moving said frame horizontally overthe surface to be rammed, a pair of arms pivotally secured to opposite sides of said frame, a plate carried at the ends ofsaid arms, said plate being inclined whereby upon movingsaid fiaine'in one direction its underface engages the surface of the Vsand to level the saine and upon ymoving' said fraine in the opposite direction said plate is depi'essible to engage its edge with the .sand

and elevate the surplus sand therefrom, and

adjustable stops for limiting the upward and downward movement of said plate.

18. In a ramming machine, a frame, a

crank shaft journaled in said frame, means for operating said crank shaft, and a ram#V i mer lcarried by said crank shaft and reciprocated thereby, said rammer comprising a bearing member secured to said crank shaft, a sleeve secured to said bearing member, a flange at the lowerv end of said sleeve, a bracket supported by said flange, a ramming shoe below said bracket, sliding bolts limiting the downward movement of said shoe relative to said bracket, a plunger projecting upwardly from saidV shoe within said sleeve and a compression spring within said plunger and sleeve and yieldingly holding said shoe in a downwardly extended posi tion. y

In testimony whereof I hereby affix my signature.

sHERwooD o. BLiss, 

